Witches and pirates are invading London’s East End with ghosts and ghosts all week, youngsters are warned.

The ‘Halloweek’ kicks off at Victoria Park today at the Hub Building with pumpkin carving, while creepy crafts are being laid on tomorrow with free workshops from 12noon to 3pm.

High jinks continue on Wednesday with the annual Teeny Halloweeny extravaganza at Mile End Play Park in Locksley Street, Mile End, 12noon-4pm, for the under-sevens, with apple bobbing, spooky treasure hunts, scary storytelling and arts and crafts.

The Big Day is Friday, two days before All Hallows Sunday, with a Boo! festival for older kids.

Super science fiction Space Invaders are at Shadwell’s King Edward Memorial Park in Glamis Road, off The Highway, 3.30-6.30pm, where a world of zombie planets and alien experiments are unleashed. Creative workshops, face painting, bouncy castle and games are included.

Meanwhile, monsters from the Deep appear at Poplar’s Bartlett Park in Upper North Street, also 3.30-6.30pm, where youngsters plunge into an underwater underworld with a ghost ship, gory face-painting and ghoulish activities. A Pirate school has spooky storytelling and Buccaneer’s Bling where youngsters make their own pirate hats, eye patches and sparkling jewellery.

Later that day, kids can scream the house down with Ditch the Witch doing battle with ghosts and ghouls in Victoria Park and Mile End Park, 6-9pm. Brave young explorers aged 7 to 11 are taken on a 30-minute blood-curdling tour of both parks. Tours have to be booked on 020-7364 1213.

The East End’s famous Ragged School Museum is also planning Half Term Hallowe’en horrors—when it becomes the Ragged ‘Ghoul’ museum.

Free activities on Wednesday and Thursday run from 10am to 5pm, for youngsters up to 11, at the museum in Copperfield Road, Stepney, next to the Regent’s Canal.

Half Moon children’s theatre nearby is half-way through its monster autumn season as Hallowe’en approaches, with The Story Giant (50 mins), exploring folklore, myth and fairytales from all over the world. The adventure to find the last story on earth has ghosts, monsters, thieves, tricksters, dragons and homing chickens. It runs for three days on Thursday at 7pm, two Friday shows at 2.30pm and 7pm and two Saturday performances at 11am and 3pm, at the theatre in White Horse Road, off the Commercial Road, all tickets £6.